Are cool office perks forever?

I once worked at a place that used all these "cool perks," like an in house barista, healthy snacks, ping pong tables, and (sometimes) beer on tap for after work. But they used these perks as an excuse to underpay us, overwork us, and micromanage to an extreme extent. The pay was basically insulting (like probably need a second job to survive insulting, but can't get one because you have me working 55 hours a week for $20k + very minimal commissions) and they expected everyone to be at work 30 minutes early and would make you feel guilty if you didn't stay late. Once I asked to use my "unlimited PTO," and was basically shut down. It's no wonder that company hires 50 new sales reps a month and after a two or three months only have one or two left. Perks should not be used to make up for lack of pay, working extra hours for the same pay, weekly lunch meetings where lunch isn't actually provided, and getting denied your unlimited PTO. Perks are great if you work for a company that doesn't micromanage you to death!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned: Enough paid sick leave and no stigma for using it so that employees who are sick don't insist on coming to work sick and giving their illness to everyone else.? This includes paid sick leave for caring for children.? It doesn't do the workplace "herd health" any good if employees use their paid sick leave to care for their sick children and then come to work sick themselves in order to save up their sick leave to use when their kids are sick.

Maybe I'm not a typical millennial but I don't care for perks. The ability to work from home when I need to is the only perk I need. Invest that money into your employee development instead. If both options are there, then great.

I've had all these perks, and they're great. Really great. But, I just wish the companies around SF Bay Area would put a bit more TLC into their hiring practices for contract workers. And, convert people. I'll get fat on the French toast Fridays, but if I don't know about my career path, I'll just move on. Perks are for attraction, not retention.

It's going to be interesting how companies that offer these perks are going to adjust to the ebb and flow of the economics that affect business. People are more aware of how their job affects their quality of life these days and if you want to retain top talent you have to offer things that make sense for both your business and those that will benefit from them.

With tight labor markets, we might be at peak but benefits are here to stay. Weak companies will disappear, and the strong will continue to win in a downturn. We're seeing wage increases and perks because the top companies realize the competition for talent is fiercer than ever. Anyone else agree/disagree?